Hello World,

I was only trying dinner items from Pinterest, and I finally tried a dessert recipe.  I made this Braided Cinnamon Wreath I found and it was pretty decent. I would recommend baking it less than it says because mine turned out a little too firm.

I heated up some leftover frosting in the fridge and then poured it on top of mine to really make it taste like a cinnamon roll.

Hello World,

Last year, one of my friends had the idea that we should go out on both Friday and Saturday of Halloween weekend- so we could wear two different costumes.  We decided on scary/sexy for the first night and cute/fun costumes the second night.

I DIY’d both of my costumes. I was a vampire the first night and a firefly the second night.

For my vampire costume, I made my cape with 2 yards of cheap velour from Joann’s and some leftover black, glittery, stretchy fabric.  I was having a really hard time finding a cape that wasn’t over $30 so I made mine for less than $10 (I used a coupon).

For the body of my cape, I cut 2 huge circles – selvedge to selvedge of 60″ fabric – each with one yard of the velour.  I cut a smaller circle in the middle of each circle for a neckline.  I measured the circumference of a tshirt I wear as a guide. With these two huge circles, I cut up the radius of each circle and sewed up one edge of each piece together. (This created one HUGE body piece that had a lot of volume. Using one circle would also work to create a cape.)

To make the huge collar I actually cut out the shape from some corrugated cardboard with the corrugation in the vertical direction. This way my collar would curve around my head, not over it.  I then cut out two pieces of fabric the same shape of my cardboard cutout with an additional inch of seam allowance added to each side.  I sewed the top and side seams together creating a pocket shape and then sewed this to the body of my cape.

To sew the collar to the cape was quite the task, since I had cardboard in the collar.  I did not sew through the cardboard at all. I sewed the final seam very close to it, trapping it inside the collar cover and attaching it to the center back of my cape’s inner circle.

I sewed the black glitter fabric around every free edge in a bias-tape manner. I also attached two long strips of fabric in the front of my cape so I could tie it closed, but my collar was so heavy it fell backward with a simple bow.  By criss-crossing the ties under my bust and knotting in the back, there was enough tension to hold the collar cape up.

I wore a corset that was on clearance at Hot Topic in March, black lace tights, and a glitter tube top actually as a skirt. The necklace I have had since I was 18, and I can’t remember where I bought it.

I bought my wig from Joann’s on clearance and it originally was wavy.  I draped it over a bucket and poured boiling water over it in my shower to straighten it. I let it air dry and then gave it a little trim.

The cape was my favorite part and it kept me warm even in the chilly Idaho Halloweens.

For my second costume, I really wanted a costume that lit up.  I instantly thought of a firefly. Making the abdomen for my firefly costume was a… learning process.

I basically made an open ended pillow that tapered to a small circle end.  I cut out long strips of fabrics and trimmed the sides so they were each a trapezoid. I sewed these trapezoids together and end up with one elongated trapezoid with a ton of seams.  I sewed the final angled sides together and sewed a small circle of fabric to the tip end to create a 3D shape.

I then created shorts and sewed the huge abdomen to the butt of the shorts.  I then cut the ‘crack’ of my shorts open and shoved polyester batting into the firefly abdomen making it full in shape. Because I cut the ‘crack’ seam of my shorts open, I was able to push lights into the firefly bottom.

I used two tap lights from the Dollar Store, but I think glow sticks would have been better and more reliable.  In the picture above, one of my lights had died, leaving my butt half-illuminated. The lights did not get too hot and thankfully my butt did not light on fire.

I created my wings with two metal hangers, electric tape and a ripped pair of fishnets.  I used the waist bands from the fishnets as the straps for my wings. I created my feelers with a Dollar Store hard headband, pipe cleaners, electric tape, cardstock, glitter and Mod Podge.

I love makeup, so I drew organic swirls on one side of face in yellow, green, white and black eyeliners. People were confused by my costume and kept asking me if I was a bee or a wasp all night, but I would just hit my butt light on and they would understand. I couldn’t sit on anything but stools all night, but it was still fun!

This year I am going to be a lion. I want a huge MANE.  What are you going to be?

Hello World,

I saved a fringe top to my Pinterest a while ago because it looked like a DIY version would be pretty simple. Here’s a link to the original shirt. It wasn’t until a fellow Pinterester commented on it, asking for a tutorial that I actually tried it out.  It was really easy to do, and if I didn’t pause to take pictures of my process, it could totally be done in less than 15 minutes.

I decided to spruce mine up with some gold beads, but you also could dip-dye the fringe, weave it, ect. Check out the tutorial below:

1.   You will need 2 identical tops (or two different colors if you want a contrasting fringe.)  You also will need scissors, a sewing machine (or a needle with matching thread), and pony beads.

2.   Take one of your tank tops and cut it apart. I cut up both side seams and the straps- this creates a back piece and a front piece.  For this tutorial we will only need the front piece.

3.   Cut out a long bib shape from your front piece.  The ending shape of your fringe will depend on what this initial shape is.

4.  With scissors, cut your fringe vertically, making sure not to cut through the neckline.

5.  Your fringe bib is now complete.  In most cases, you would need to gently pull at each fringe to make it curl up on itself- but my shirt’s stretch was in the wrong direction. A standard tshirt should curl up very nicely when you tug on it.

6.   Pin your bib to the front of your other tank top, lining the two necklines up exactly, with both right sides facing up.

7.   Either hand sew or use your sewing machine. Use a zig zag or stretch stitch.

8.   You could be finished at this point if you wish, and just skip the bead steps.

9.   To add beads to each fringe, twist each fringe tip so it goes through the bead easier.  I bought my gold pony beads from Michael’s. Make sure you buy beads with large enough holes. (Think beads similar to summer camp)

10.  Tada! You have a new top in less than 15 minutes! Add as many rows of beads as you wish, and if you are worried about them coming off simply tie a knot below each bead to secure it.

Here is the top without the beads.  Nice and simple!

I really like the look with the beads. I might add a few more rows to bling it out a little more.

These tanks tops were pretty cheap!  Only $3.49 each at Old Navy.  If you wait for one of their Extra 50% off clearance sales, it would be a super cheap project!  You even could use old tshirts for this project.

PS Thanks Alaysia for the suggestion for a tutorial!  If anyone else has a tutorial suggestion, just let me know!  Happy Crafting!